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EA82 Front Axle Help

I've been following the procedure in this thread to replace my front, driver's side axle because of a torn boot.

Attached is a picture of where I am. I have removed the sway bar mount on the body and completely removed the top strut mount bolts. I still cannot get the DOJ off of the stub axle. I'm working on disconnecting the guide rod and tie rod to completely swivel the steering knuckle out of the way. Is there something I'm missing here?

Attached Files

It was a pain in the a$$ when I replaced my axle a few months ago. I didn't have to do anything with strut bolts though. Take off the wheel, hub, rotor and calipers. Disconnect sway bar. Maybe turn the steering wheel one direction, as that helps a bit in some cases. Then just with a piece of wood and a hammer, pound the axle out. It's a little difficult, but that's all I had to do to replace my axle.

if you removed the 3 nuts at the top of the strut you allowed the strut to come down, which is not letting the axle get out enough because the axle and strut are still moving in unison. do some more searching, maybe watch a video or two, itll come to ya. whatever ya do, dont start beating the pee out of anything. ank me how i know:D

I did just what I said. From the looks of it by the picture, just start pounding the axle out with a hammer and a block of wood. A large, blunt force hammer works best, since it can be stuck in there. But once you start pounding it, and the axle starts creeping its way out of the knuckle, it should be relatively smooth sailing.

I'm still confused though, everything I've read said you must take the DOJ off first, then the BJ. Which one did you do first? And I'm not sure what the control arm since the last car I had had a very different design up front so I'm not sure wht the control arm is.

pretty sure hes talking about the ball joint. the control arm is the long metal piece that goes from under the motor to the bottom of the bearing assembly. where the bearing assembly goes into it is a flexible joint called a ball joint.

to get the inner joint off of the transmission you have to find a way to relieve the compression between the inner and outer joints. this is done by moving the bearing assembly out a little bit. you can undo the control arm bolts, ball joints, struts, whatever flavor you want but you have to stretch the axle enough that you can get it off. since you have the struts off at the very top you aren't allowing the assembly to swing far enough out to get it apart.

if it were me i would hook the strut back up and undo the lower connection where the control arm hooks in under the motor, or undo the link between the strut and spindle and remove the strut completely.

the wedge and pry method is great if you have a feeling for the process, but generally the basic way is to just remove all that is in the way and reinstall. more bolts but ussually less headaches.

Attached Files

The way I always do it is: disconnect the sway bar, take off the crown nut that holds the ball joint and control arm together (found under the spindle), then pop it out of the control arm. Leave everything else attached and maybe turn the wheel out and it should give plenty of room to get the axle out. The tie rod and strut bolts should not have to be removed.

To be perfectly honest, playing with the strut rod (the long, skinny bar) will probably lead to many curse words if it's never been disturbed. There are 2 bolts that hold that rod to the control arm, but they are crush nuts and will fight you until the last thread.

I'd attach the upper strut mount (the 3 bolts), pop that control arm-to-frame bolt back in and then undo the lower ball joint (the 19mm nut on the bottom, be prepared to fight the cotterpin if it's original). After popping the ball joint from the arm, you can then make sure the stub/CV axle will come out of the spindle. If you experience trouble, put the castle nut back on until it's flush with the end and give it a few, sharp raps with a sledge. Too crazy and you can bend the threaded stub.

Once you know the stub will move, now step on the lower control arm until you can pull the spindle away and clear the ball joint from the arm. Now you can swivel the spindle and push the axle out, toward the back of the car. Once the axle is clear (it's a tight fit, but the axle WILL clear the spindle and rear seal, just be patient), work on wobbling/sliding the inner joint off the shaft (do not pull/yank, you'll pop the inner joint out of the cup).

So it turns out that the axle I ordered was the wrong spline count. I ended up taking the old axle, cutting the shaft at the outer joint and just installing that part to keep the hub together and driving in four wheel drive using the rear wheels. This shouldn't be an issue for anything, right?

So it turns out that the axle I ordered was the wrong spline count. I ended up taking the old axle, cutting the shaft at the outer joint and just installing that part to keep the hub together and driving in four wheel drive using the rear wheels. This shouldn't be an issue for anything, right?

They're not designed for this, but I have heard of people running their EA82s in RWD for extended periods of time. Just don't use the handbrake as a linelock and start doing crazy burnouts...

personally I always punch out the rollpin, and break the castle nut free. from there I pop off the tie rod end and the lower ball joint. with the strut still bolted in i find i get enough play out of it to work the axle assembly out. either way you can complete the task. i just don't mess with the control arm if i don't have to. the can be a pain in the back sometimes!